


Faith and Flowers

by cold_flames



Series: Forging Paths [2]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Claude von Riegan is a Little Shit, Established Relationship, Heavy Angst, Jeralt Reus Eisner Lives, Kinda, Language of Flowers, M/M, Major Character Injury, Male My Unit | Byleth, Minor Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd/Claude von Riegan, My Unit | Byleth Has Emotions, Only if you squint - Freeform, can be read as standalone, no beta we die like Glenn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-21
Updated: 2020-08-21
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:27:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,275
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26024956
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cold_flames/pseuds/cold_flames
Summary: Yuri barely felt the tears trail along the corners of his eyes. He only heard a scream that he’d never thought Byleth would be capable of as he let the Fetters of Dromi pulse red hot, drawing on its power and tearing across the battlefield. As he pours all of his magic into the body of an almost dead Byleth, spots of purple and blood-red begin to grow from the grass around them.
Relationships: Yuris Leclair | Yuri Leclerc & My Unit | Byleth, Yuris Leclair | Yuri Leclerc/My Unit | Byleth
Series: Forging Paths [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1888996
Comments: 6
Kudos: 64





	Faith and Flowers

**Author's Note:**

> Hnrgh...I don't...mean...to...hurt...my...babies...but...I...always do...anyway...
> 
> Can be read as standalone or together with my previous work, "Shackles of Fate"

From the moment it had been officially announced that Edelgard’s troops were poised to attack within two weeks, something had felt amiss. While he had been better prepared - he had managed to squeeze some information out of a former Empire knight that he’d caught in the marketplace - Edelgard had been wise to spread false information amongst her troops. Yuri had immediately informed the church, but without evidence to prove it was accurate, Rhea refused to “create unnecessary worry amongst civilians”.

As a leader himself, Yuri understood about not causing mass anxiety to something that had high chances of being false. However, he was not one to be caught unprepared. After managing to convince Byleth, the two discreetly begin to clear pathways from the Abyss out to safer, isolated areas in the Oghma mountains. It was simple enough, seeing as there were originally such tunnels out but had been filled up over the years.

But as the end of the two weeks drew closer, a feeling of unease settled down in the empty pits of his body and had begun to creep their way up. He was not one for being pessimistic, but the odds of victory was far too out of his reach for his liking.

Now, one day before the battle, Yuri stared at a very tattered, hand-drawn map of Fodlán on his desk, the area around Garreg Mach scrawled out with varying colours of ink before scowling and crushing it into a ball to join the others in the wastepaper basket while he reached out for a new one. His hair fell apart from its loose from its bun for what felt like the hundredth time and he reached back up to fix it again, irked.

A soft but firm knock sounded on his door and Yuri tensed slightly.

“One moment,” He called out, slipping a nearby dagger into one of his sleeve and placing one on the desk in plain sight for good measure, making sure to keep his voice steady.

Whoever stood out there was not any of the Wolves. Balthus never knocked, seeing as it was his room too and often opted to smash his fist into doors rather than knock. Similarly, Constance would never have waited if Yuri requested for a moment and preferred to barge in until she walked in on Balthus in his full glory. Hapi, on the other hand, being much less impatient, generally knocked thrice quickly.

“Come in,” Yuri announced as he pulled the door toward him and visibly relaxed when the familiar black armour came into view. “Greetings, friend,” He smiled easily as tension left his shoulders. ‘What brings you here to Abyss at such an hour?”

“I needed to tell you something,” Byleth stated bluntly, running a finger through his newly-coloured hair.

“Here to confess your undying love for me before the battle?” Yuri teased, ushering Byleth in and shutting the door behind him.

“Maybe,” Byleth replied, the corner of his lips pulled up ever so slightly into a small smirk, eyes glinting playfully.

“Oho, what’s this? The professor sneaking into his student’s room to profess his love? How scandalous!” Yuri grinned, although he cursed internally for having pinned his hair up - he’s certain the traitorous red had shown itself on the back of his neck.

Byleth’s playfulness sobered away as he gave a watery smile, slumping onto the edge of Yuri’s bed. Or at least, what Yuri thought was a watery smile. “Unfortunately, this is going to be much more boring than a scandal. I need your help.”

“Of course. I’m here for you anytime. What’s wrong?”

Yuri watched as Byleth fidgeted around, and narrowed his eyes. “…This is about your recurring lives, isn’t it?” 

Byleth looks down, and it’s more than any verbal answer Yuri could receive. “I don’t want to push this burden onto you-”

“Stop,” Yuri interrupted, cupping his hands along Byleth’s cheeks and making him look directly into his lavender eyes. “You won’t push _any_ burden onto me. You don’t need to shoulder this alone. I already agreed to help, no? Let me help.”

“If anything happens to me, I need you to help everyone escape. Make sure no one, especially Dimitri, remains at the monastery. Get the other Lions, Golden Deer, Claude or even my father. Help me make sure they escape. I’ll be back in five years.”

“No.” Yuri replied firmly, anger seeping through his voice. “Absolutely not.”

“But-”

“No ‘buts’!” He stood up and began pacing up and down the length of the room, trembling. “You want me to let you…let you simply get captured by the Empire while I save everyone else?! How certain are you that you’ll escape within five years? Forget five years, how do you even intend to escape?”

“Yuri, I-”

“I understand your need to save everyone, I do. What if you die? How do you think everyone else would feel?! Your father, Dimitri, _me_? Me, who _knew_ beforehand what you intended to do! Edelgard isn’t going to imprison you, if you must know. You’re heading straight for a public execution!”

“Yuri!” Byleth grabbed his shoulders and Yuri glared, enraged, into his minty eyes. “I won’t get captured by Edelgard. She isn’t our enemy here.”

As Byleth watched the effects of his words on Yuri, who took time to process the information, he forged on, “The real enemy are the Agarthans. They’re the ones pulling the strings on Edelgard. I’ve talked this through with my father and Dimitri - our main goal should be to destroy Thales and the rest of the Agarthans. I’ve left a map with my father and already made preparations with Claude to ally with Faerghus discreetly. After we destroy the Agarthans, I’ll talk to Edelgard.”

“ _Talk_?” Yuri hissed. “She’s out to destroy the entire crest system. You want to _talk_ to her?”

“Yes,” Byleth replied firmly. “She’s misinformed about what really happened about the battle between Nemesis and Seiros.”

Yuri simmered down, taking a deep breath. “Alright. I trust you. You have my support. Just, please. Don’t get yourself killed.”

Byleth nodded. “How about a little something for good luck?”

“Good…what- Byleth!” Yuri widened his eyes in surprise as Byleth swooped in, gently placing his lips on Yuri’s own.

As they parted, Yuri raised an eyebrow as he looked Byleth in the eye. “If you die, I’ll personally find your dead body and kill you again.”

“Does this mean you’re _still_ angry with me?” Byleth pouted.

“Nice try. I’ll forgive you when you get out of this mess alive and well. I’ll see you tomorrow; I’m going through my plans once last time before I turn in.”

After Byleth silently closed the door on his way out, Yuri waited impatiently for his footsteps to die out before he threw on a cloak. Opening his door by a hair to make sure Byleth had really gone back up to the surface, Yuri weaved through the smaller roads of Abyss before emerging into the cool night air of Garreg Mach’s marketplace. While the place was devoid of light save for the guards by the front door, Yuri hardly had problems navigating in the dark.

In the cover of the shadows, Yuri made his way to the library and knocked before pulling the doors open.

“Yuri. Just on time,” A familiar voice floated across, and a dim candle inside illuminated the faces of Claude and Dimitri. “What held you up?” Dimitri (Who had thankfully not succumbed to his past, due to Byleth persuading him in advance ages ago) asked, gesturing for him to come in.

“Lost myself to time, sorry about that. Let’s get down to business.”

“Or to the professor?” Claude grinned knowingly, flashing a wink at Yuri. “I saw the professor come out of Abyss on the way to the library.”

“Claude!” Dimitri whisper-yelled, aghast. “Can we please begin?”

“Come on, Your Princeliness, aren’t you the tiniest bit curious? Or are you scared you’ll loose your bet?”

“I made no such bet!”

“You made a bet on whether me and Byleth ended up together?” Yuri echoed.

“No!”

“Yeah.”

Yuri laughed as Dimitri turned red. “Can we _please_ begin?”

“Sure, sure,” Yuri watched in amusement as the prince groaned in embarrassment. “When Edelgard attacks tomorrow, we don’t have high chances of winning. Get everyone out of Garreg Mach’s territory. Faerghus and Leicester need to form an alliance. If we can have two warring states and not three, we can prevent a deadlock between the three nations. The first thing both of you need to do immediately is to claim your official titles and get rid of the corrupt nobles. And if Byleth makes it that far, we’ll plan our next move with him.”

“And if he doesn’t?” Claude asked, eyes stony.

“He _will_ make it. Jeralt will be able to help.”

After the short meeting with the other lords, Yuri whispered a silent apology as he passed Byleth’s room and headed back into the Abyss.

By the time dawn had broken through the indigo skies, the civilians had been evacuated to the Oghma Mountains, escorted by Yuri’s rogues. The Knights of Seiros stood in formation as the first crimson flag appeared in the sky, the twin-headed eagle on it’s banner.

Heavily fortified knights stood at the very front of the Empire’s army, and as the fireballs flew like shooting stars, the last bit of darkness in the sky gave way to the golden rays. Volleys of arrows rained down on the enemy, Shamir and Claude at the very top of the towers at Garreg Mach, their arrows striking home.

As Demonic Beasts begun to snake their way in, Yuri heard Hapi take in a deep breath. Giant wolves and birds appeared at her call and they pecked away at the amour of the beasts. It was a terrifying sight - a lone girl on horseback surrounded with giant wolves and birds, charging down the enemy ranks, followed closely by Balthus and Rapheal. Constance flew with Lysithea and Dorothea, leading dark fliers over the sky, pelting ice and lightning to counter the raging fires of the imperial mages. Yuri wasn’t too worried about the Wolves. They could more than hold their own in battle, and all of them had basic knowledge of faith magic. They had more than proved themselves in battle.

Byleth, however, was another problem altogether. He had charged together with Jeralt on the front lines, and Yuri had been desperate to find a way to get there. It was bad enough that a dragon had appeared - which Yuri had highly suspected it was Rhea - and Byleth, like the idiot he was, rushed to her aid when Demonic beasts got the better of her. His instinct told him to _run_.

“Yuri, wait!” Dimitri’s voice came up from behind him, the prince gripping onto a lance tightly. “I’ll back you up.”

“Alright,” He replied grimly, without bothering to look at the prince. “I hope you can catch up.”

With a Levin sword in one hand and a normal sword strapped to his belt just for good measure, the Fetters of Dromi glowed. If not for the fact that Dimitri was on horseback, Yuri was certain the prince would’ve never caught up.

Upon reaching the gates, he saw the familiar red glow of the Sword of the Creator shine through the dust. But when the dragon fell in defeat and a group of strange people appeared before Byleth, dark magic flowing in their hands, Yuri could do nothing but watch as snake-like coils of black magic burnt through Byleth’s skin. Yuri barely felt the tears trail along the corner of his eyes.

Byleth’s scream was terrible.

It was something that he’d never thought Byleth would be capable of as he let the Fetters of Dromi pulse red hot, drawing on all its power despite Dimitri yelling at him to stop exerting himself. The fetters burned in his hand and Yuri raised his sword. Lightning rained down on the mages and he dropped to his knees by Byleth’s side, supporting his unconscious body and tossed a small heal spell into Byleth. As the mages grouped themselves together, Yuri brandished his sword.

“Stay back!”

He heard himself growl, voice lowered by an octave. Lightning cackled in the jagged angles of his sword and he raised it once more. When the mages refused, he felt an ugly grin form on his face as he commanded lightning to hail down on the mages. The smell of charred burning filled his senses and he fled into the forests, carrying Byleth in his arms.

He managed to find a well-hidden cranny surrounded by trees and foliage and laid Byleth’s limp body on the grass, unnoticed tears falling slowly onto Byleth’s armour. White magic engulfed the both of them as Yuri forced himself to remember the incantations. His hands were no longer visible, drowned in the blinding light of Faith magic. He slammed white magic into Byleth’s chest and for the first time, prayed to the Goddess. He spun a vortex of white magic, watched it swirl around Byleth’s burnt body, allowing his magic to flow in. As his magic begun to falter and fade, Yuri ignored it. With shaking hands, Yuri drew his Levin sword and forged on, extracting magic from the sword and converting it into Faith magic.

When the last droplets of magic seeped through his palms, darkness overtook his vision and Yuri slumped across Byleth’s body, yielding to the comfort of the dark.

A gentle breeze blew, ruffling the purple hyacinths and crimson primroses that had suddenly appeared, surrounding the two in a circular field of soft purples and blood-red flowers.

**Author's Note:**

> Flower symbolism: 
> 
> Purple hyacinth: sorrow/ I'm sorry
> 
> Red primrose: I can't live without you 
> 
> I might consider writing an epilogue/a second chapter because Yuri and Byleth deserve to be happy :(


End file.
